Will Davies, managing director of property maintenance firm aspect.co.uk, has criticised the government for not taking the ‘Get Britain Building’ fund seriously.

Mr Davies has argued that the Coalition should be “embarrassed” for its treatment of the construction. His comments come after it has been revealed that the £570m ‘Get Britain Building’ scheme has only built 715 houses since its launch in November 2011. An initiative created by former housing minister Grant Shapps, its intention was to provide 16,000 homes in three years.

“The Get Britain Building fund is meant to build homes, but has built just 715 homes. This is a massive ‘own goal’ by the government,” said Mr Davies.

“The government should stop making up policies and not effectively follow up on them. I am dumbstruck by their treatment towards the construction industry. They should be embarrassed.”

In order to get the construction industry back on track, Mr Davies suggests the government should focus on building more affordable housing, rather than fuelling the housing boom.

“They should realise that the Help to Buy scheme is a con until they concentrate on building affordable housing,” he said. “Once they do this, then they can support first-time buyers.”

He continued: “Believe it or not, the South East is suffering massively due to the housing shortages. Many professionals are moving to London, but house prices in the capital have just gone through the roof. Unless they can create capacity for people to be able to afford to move out of London, but still be within range of the capital, there are going to be problems.”

He added: “Building a Garden City in Ebbsfleet is all well, but there is little guarantee that this would entice people to live there unless they’re affordable. Affordable housing is in short supply and Get Britain Building should be the start of this.”